Next Year, Important Communication Facilities Expanded from 887 to 903

Approval of the "2022 Basic Plan for Communication Disaster Management"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus, SK Broadband, and other telecommunications companies will have to manage nearly 900 important communication facilities next year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 28th that it held the 3rd Telecommunications Disaster Management Deliberation Committee meeting and reviewed and approved the "2022 Telecommunications Disaster Management Basic Plan" containing this information.

The meeting was held with government agencies such as the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the National Fire Agency, as well as private experts from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), ICT Polytechnic University, Mokwon University, Soongsil University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, and the Disaster Safety Institute.

The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that, reflecting the establishment guidelines and management plans of telecommunications companies approved at the 1st and 2nd deliberation committees, the number of 5G base stations was incorporated into the designation criteria for important communication facility grades, increasing the number of important communication facilities from 887 in 2021 to 903 in 2022.

The four major telecommunications companies also plan to complete the dualization of communication networks and power supply networks for newly designated facilities within 2022.

According to the 2022 basic plan, 99.3% of communication network target facilities and 95.7% of power supply network target facilities will complete dualization.

Furthermore, telecommunications companies plan to advance data analysis of major communication facilities and optical line monitoring systems based on information and communication technologies (ICT) such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.

A Ministry of Science and ICT official said, "The stability of communication networks has become even more important due to the spread of COVID-19," adding, "We will continue to manage important communication facilities next year to provide stable communication services."